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The truth is that, if you do go and get a pap smear before you have sex, you will remember that feeling for the rest of your life. You do have to make sure you say if it hurts. LETS BE TRUTHFUL, YOUR PAP SMEAR TEST WILL HURT BECAUSE YOU ARE VERY SENSITIVE AND NO ONE EVER HAS TOUCHED YOU THERE. For this reason, I advise to every girl out there to wait, wait until you are doing things right, ask right away for another type of test, such as mri, or ultrasound, et. And if is pain you are feeling on your upper area of lower abdomen, then there are many causes to this discomforting feeling, one being a water cyst, or menstrual disorders due to walking barefoot, or even stress related. This could only be determined with a simple non invasive abdominal ultrasound, so stop undergoing pain, do not run for this invasive test first, and try to do something less invasive first. My point is, if you think you have something wrong, go ask your doctor to test you in a non-invasive matter. This test is invasive no matter how nice they make it seem, or how prepare you think you are. Do not think that, just because a woman is older than you and has experience, that she might know the answer to your problems, No one is the same, That is the essence of science. Every one thinks they, Understand that before answering questions. I had the worst experience in this field, and it is because of this, that I have not been able to go back to the doctor despite all the symptoms I have that indicate a possible ovarian cancer three years after symptoms started. I can't even have great sex, all I remember is the feeling of invasion to your most protected untouched being every time I think of my first time. I am still with post traumatic stress disorder from this experience that took place 4 years ago. I would not advise any girl who has been protecting herself for so long to undergo the suffering i HAVE. THE EXPERTS CAN SAY ANYTHING, BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WOMEN HAVE BEEN STUDIED FOR JUST UNDER 20 YEARS, AND MANY DOCTORS AND NURSES CANT FEEL FOR THEIR PATIENTS AS THEY ASSURE EVERY ONE OF THEM. MY ADVISE IS TO WAIT AND DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO MAKE YOU DO AN EXAM OF THAT SORT WHEN YOU PROBABLY HAVE SOMETHING ELSE. BESIDES PAP SMEAR TEST FOR CERVICAL CANCER-- THIS as we know, is MAINLY CAUSE BY A SEXUAL VIRUS, and since you have not had sex, or if your nuclear family has no history of cancer, then you might most likely not have any type of cancer. GET EDUCATED, stand up for yourself. AND DO NOT LET THEM MAKE YOU TAKE THE TEST IN VANE..IF THERE IS NO REASON TO TAKE THE TEST such as (sex) DO NOT UNDERGO THE PAIN. remember it is your body and you will be the one to live and remember this not them, YOU ARE A WOMAN, FIGHT AND DO IT WITH COURAGE.
To the person who answered previously, the question was over the hymen not if the girl has had sex or not, this is not the topic she wants to know... see, people know the difference between having sex and not..
... Here is a question for you to think over, people, and specially women, can they differentiate between the first time being kissed versus the first time someone put their tongue in that position??? think about it.the first time you feel something, you will remember. do not encourage someone to do something you find completely ok wile they might not. this causes useless suffering, this type of suffering, you have not experience yourself, so does this gives you the right to say anything.???.Please think and pass this information on
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Did you check your facts? A pap smear is where they take a tiny brush and touch your cervix. This collects a few cervical cells so they can look at them under a microscope for cancerous changes. (Similar to a buccal swab where they just rub a cotton swab on the inside of your cheek) It is not at all invasive, whatsoever. There is no cutting or needles or pain (though it may be slightly uncomfortable (or feel pressure, but not pain) due to the speculum which they use to look inside your vagina). You cannot compare this to an MRI or ultrasound; those are completely different procedures that test for different things. MRI and Ultrasound look at your actual anatomy, there is no way they can look at cellular changes. They could spot a tumor, but wouldn't you want to know about possible cancer in the very early stages when it is only detectable in your tiny cells? The reason they do pap smears is because rigorous epidemiological studies have shown that they are able to detect cervical cancer at a very early stage when it is more treatable. The earlier you detect cancerous changes, the more successful the treatments will be. You DO NOT want to wait until you have symptoms and large tumors.

Having this test done "in vain" is a good thing! It means that they did not find any bad results. I would rather have this test done "in vain" then to ignore it for years and find out the hard way that I have advanced stage cervical cancer that is spreading.

I think this post is way over the top and scaring women out of getting a pap smear. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from a pap smear? You have flashbacks of your first pap smear and can't sleep at night for fear they will do this to you again?...c’mon, it is not that serious... and I hope that any other woman that comes across this site does not read your post and actually believe that a pap smear is traumatic and invasive. It most definitely is not. A pap smear is painless, non-invasive, takes less than 5 minutes and can save your life. Why wouldn’t you do this?

By invasive she meant, a foreign object like the speculum will be inserted into the body. That is another meaning of the word even in the medical jargon. And for most, pap smear may be just uncomfortable. For some, especially virgins it can be painful and for a few yes it can be traumatic.

She is talking about pap smear performed on virgins and if there is another non-invasive test available, virgins should opt for that instead. I think nowadays pap smears are no longer recommended for virgins.

I am a virgin who, thanks to a messed up period and a family history of cancer, has endured four paps since the age of fifteen.The most recent pap was not as painful as some of the previous ones. At the time you might think it is the worst feeling in the world but it soon passes! My hymen was either torn in the first pap or I was born without one, either way I am still a virgin in the truest form of the word. At the end of the day having or not having a hymen should not be the most important thing for being a virgin. I fully expect when I do lose my virginity I will not bleed but I know if my husband knows much of anything about the female anatimy he will hardly notice.If your doctor or nurse recomends a pap GET ONE then go home, have a hot shower, and eat some ice cream and you will soon forget about it! I know I did!
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The truth is that, if you do go and get a pap smear before you have sex, you will remember that feeling for the rest of your life. You do have to make sure you say if it hurts. LETS BE TRUTHFUL, YOUR PAP SMEAR TEST WILL HURT BECAUSE YOU ARE VERY SENSITIVE AND NO ONE EVER HAS TOUCHED YOU THERE. For this reason, I advise to every girl out there to wait, wait until you are doing things right, ask right away for another type of test, such as mri, or ultrasound, et. And if is pain you are feeling on your upper area of lower abdomen, then there are many causes to this discomforting feeling, one being a water cyst, or menstrual disorders due to walking barefoot, or even stress related. This could only be determined with a simple non invasive abdominal ultrasound, so stop undergoing pain, do not run for this invasive test first, and try to do something less invasive first. My point is, if you think you have something wrong, go ask your doctor to test you in a non-invasive matter. This test is invasive no matter how nice they make it seem, or how prepare you think you are. Do not think that, just because a woman is older than you and has experience, that she might know the answer to your problems, No one is the same, That is the essence of science. Every one thinks they, Understand that before answering questions. I had the worst experience in this field, and it is because of this, that I have not been able to go back to the doctor despite all the symptoms I have that indicate a possible ovarian cancer three years after symptoms started. I can't even have great sex, all I remember is the feeling of invasion to your most protected untouched being every time I think of my first time. I am still with post traumatic stress disorder from this experience that took place 4 years ago. I would not advise any girl who has been protecting herself for so long to undergo the suffering i HAVE. THE EXPERTS CAN SAY ANYTHING, BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WOMEN HAVE BEEN STUDIED FOR JUST UNDER 20 YEARS, AND MANY DOCTORS AND NURSES CANT FEEL FOR THEIR PATIENTS AS THEY ASSURE EVERY ONE OF THEM. MY ADVISE IS TO WAIT AND DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO MAKE YOU DO AN EXAM OF THAT SORT WHEN YOU PROBABLY HAVE SOMETHING ELSE. BESIDES PAP SMEAR TEST FOR CERVICAL CANCER-- THIS as we know, is MAINLY CAUSE BY A SEXUAL VIRUS, and since you have not had sex, or if your nuclear family has no history of cancer, then you might most likely not have any type of cancer. GET EDUCATED, stand up for yourself. AND DO NOT LET THEM MAKE YOU TAKE THE TEST IN VANE..IF THERE IS NO REASON TO TAKE THE TEST such as (sex) DO NOT UNDERGO THE PAIN. remember it is your body and you will be the one to live and remember this not them, YOU ARE A WOMAN, FIGHT AND DO IT WITH COURAGE. by the way the question was over the hymen not if the girl has had sex or not, this is not the topic she wants to know... see people know the difference between having sex and not.. Here is a question for you to think over, people, women, can they differentiate between the first time being kissed versus the first time someone put their tongue in that position??? think about it.the first time you feel something, you will remember. do not encourage someone to do something you find completely ok wile they might not. this causes useless suffering and that you have not experience yourself so this gives you the right to say anything..Please think and pass this information on..

I am 36 years old and a virgin. I just had a pap smear for the first time ever, and it was the worse pain I have ever felt in my life. I will never undergo that procedure again, EVER! This being said, I do believe that it was necessary that I had it done. I have suffered with my period from the first time it started at the age of 9 and now that I am older the situation has gotten worse. I would not recommend a pap smear for everyone, but if it is necessary to have it done then get it done. It might just save your life. I will get my results in November, if it's negative, I will be very happy. Again, for me it was a pretty traumatic experience, but I felt it was necessary to have it done.

Hi im 25 and i totally agree. I wish I saw this blog before getting my pap smear. I avoided it since I was a virgin. I had a doctors appointment to figure out what was stretching out these flu like symptoms and the doctor kept stressing that I need to get a pap smear to check for cancer that may run in my family. They made me feel like there was no other way to check but through a pap smear. I left regretting that I had it. Its a feeling I wish to forget!!! If I had known there were other options to check, i would choose those options in a heart beat. I highly suggest, if you must get checked, to chose the non-invasive measures!!! You just cant go wrong with that.

i am still virgin and never had sex before. when i went to gynecologist,she suggested me to to the pap test. i did not know that it will heart , it saw some blood after the test. is that mean my hymen gets broken?in indian culture, hymen only breaks after marriage in the first intercourse.I am so worried about that.please help
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I had this done a few days ago. Alot of women close to me have been inflicted with cancer, unfortunately, both very young and old. I just wanted to make sure I was doing what I could to catch anything early. I had been avoiding it for many years but my doctor convinced me to go ahead and get one done. To be honest, it's all about your mentality. If you can get over thinking that you're somehow losing your viriginity, then it won't be so bad. I just took it as a medical exam for my own health and to give me peace of mind. IT WILL HURT. Women in my life warned me that it is uncomfortable to painful. It was very painful because I was not used to that feeling. But, I had it done by my family doctor who I felt comfortable with and trusted. She did it as quickly as possible and helped me through it. I guess it just depends on each person. If you believe in your mind that it is sexual or that you lost your virginity, then yes, it will be traumatizing. But, if you see it for what it is, a medical exam that you're doing for your own benefit, then no, it's not so bad. It will be over before you know it, and life will continue as normal, hopefully cancer free!

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